At its recent Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Tom Rice, president of Conner Industries in Fort Worth, Texas.

In presenting the award, SFPA Chairman Joe Kusar announced to the gathering of members and guests:

“I want to recognize one our members that has gone far beyond the call of duty in leading our association. Today, SFPA is on a solid footing with some promising years ahead thanks in large part to Tom Rice.  His leadership and guidance through some very tough years has helped SFPA retain its stature as one of the leading Southern Pine lumber organizations,” he told the crowd.

“Tom served two terms as SFPA’s Chairman, and the association is better for it. Tom’s career in our industry goes back to 1966, when he ended his service in the Air Force.  He joined Conner Industries in 1990 and has been the company President for many years. Conner Industries has been an SFPA member since 1989,” Joe added.

In accepting the award, Tom said, “I am humbled and eternally grateful for this recognition. Truly, I will treasure my work on behalf of SFPA as a highlight of my career in the industry.”

Conner Industries, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, has operations and/or sales offices in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

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SFPA is a nonprofit trade association that has represented manufacturers of Southern Pine lumber since 1915. Today, SFPA is the leading source of information about Southern Pine products for design-build professionals and consumers.